General NFL discussion thread

[Wood]

Manning had cervical fusion today.



I've been told by the doctor we have on FBG staff that the initial reports of "2 to 3 months" recovery time is just a way of keeping the Colts fans from jumping off a cliff, and that depending on the type of fusion, this could QUITE POSSIBLY be career-threatening.

[Lawrence]

That is some really sad news. I enjoy the hell out of watching that guy play football. If career ending is true this would be a dark day for the league.

[Spigs]

Terrible news.  As much as I don't like Manning and the way the media treats him I never wanted him not playing.  Here's hoping that he can bounce right back from this.

[Benestro]

Ive been a DIEHARD Colts fan for a long time and this is the worst possible scenario. Ive said from the beginning that I was really worried about how this would affect him long term. This is gonna be a tough year to watch. Life after Peyton is definitley inching closer. 

[Chris Campbell]

Cross posting this from the Fantasy thread but if anyone is interested I set up an 11 O'clock Survivor League on Yahoo. 

For those who don't know, a Survivor league is where each week you pick one team to win their game.  If you pick correctly you move onto the next week, if your pick loses you are eliminated.  The catch is you can only pick each team one time per season so if, for example, Wood takes his Eagles in week one to beat the Rams, he than cannot pick them for the rest of the season.

Sign up through yahoo fantasy, I don't believe there is a limit but if there is it'll be first come first served.  You do not need an invite from me, just log in and search for the group.

Group: 11 O'Clock Survivors
Group ID: 24552
Password: VinceB

Any questions or issues registering please PM me.

Just joined!

Kansas City Week 1 vs the Bills.

[Jeremy G]

What a way to start the season. It goes down to the goal-line.

[valance_the_hunter]

What a way to start the season. It goes down to the goal-line.

Hells yea!

[Planck length]

if David Garrard goes to Miami that scares me as pats fan i was hoping for two easy wins.  i wonder if ponder with the vikings makes into the game in sunday?

[JimN]

if David Garrard goes to Miami that scares me as pats fan i was hoping for two easy wins.  i wonder if ponder with the vikings makes into the game in sunday?

It's unlikely unless McNabb gets hurt or the Vikings have a huge lead in the 4th quarter (and that's really unlikely).

[Wood]

if David Garrard goes to Miami that scares me as pats fan i was hoping for two easy wins.  i wonder if ponder with the vikings makes into the game in sunday?

Garrard isn't much better (if at all) than Henne.

But if I were you I would be worried about Matt Moore. He's capable of being a very good NFL QB if he gets a shot this year, which I think will happen.

[valance_the_hunter]

Poor Rams…ouch.  I thought it was a big mistake that the rams didn't pick up some wide out talent and now, to lose amendola.  Ouch!  That's rough.

[Lawrence]

I woke up with tears all over my Cowboys onesie. 

Everyone thought we would lose by 30 points so I guess we did better than that, right?

[Wood]

Very good first week for we Eagles fans:

1) Convincing win on the road against a team favored to win their division. Check
2) Loss by the Giants, and looked horrible doing it? Check
3) Loss by the Cowboys, with Romo choking away an otherwise good night? Check
4) Losses by key NFC contenders ATL, NO and TB? Check
5) Minnesota loses thanks to McNabb coming up short? Check

Now admittedly, I also saw Green Bay look every bit as awesome as I feared they would be, and they're the #1 seed in the NFC barring a Rodgers injury.  I also saw the Bears and Lions look legit, although they're now going to have to beat the hell out of each other along with Green Bay in what looks to be a stacked division

[Lawrence]

Very good first week for we Eagles fans:

1) Convincing win on the road against a team favored to win their division. Check
2) Loss by the Giants, and looked horrible doing it? Check
3) Loss by the Cowboys, with Romo choking away an otherwise good night? Check
4) Losses by key NFC contenders ATL, NO and TB? Check
5) Minnesota loses thanks to McNabb coming up short? Check

Now admittedly, I also saw Green Bay look every bit as awesome as I feared they would be, and they're the #1 seed in the NFC barring a Rodgers injury.  I also saw the Bears and Lions look legit, although they're now going to have to beat the hell out of each other along with Green Bay in what looks to be a stacked division

If I was you guys I would be a little worried about my linebackers or lack there of. If Steven Jackson would of been able to stay in that game I think it could of been a long day for the Eagles.

[steve bryant]

I thought the Bears were being overlooked by the national media, but I still wasn't a full-on believer. I've been fooled a few times over the last decade or so. Throughout the Dick Jauron and Lovie Smith eras, the team exemplified inconsistency, twice posting a 13-3 season, only to follow it up with a couple of mediocre years.

2011: Another year older, but the defense hadn't shown any drop-off last year, and the Martz scheme historically shows improvement in year two...I was cautiously optimistic, but I still tempered my expectations.

I picked the bears to win, but I wasn't expecting the smackdown they gave the Falcons. Plenty of room to improve on offense—particularly in terms of red zone scoring, and Cutler still threw a couple of risky "shoulda-been" picks—but a solid effort.

Urlacher (INT, fumble recovery, TD) and Peppers (2 sacks, forced fumble, fumble recovery) were terrific, Henry Melton showed why Marinelli is so high on him and the Amobi Okoye reclamation project is looking to make sense. I'm eager to see how Corey Wooten* looks when he comes back, and if he can build on his rookie season.

Today is all about joy and celebration, but sketpticism returns tomorrow ("Did the Bears destroy Atlanta, or did the Falcons just crap the bed?"), with the team traveling to New Orleans to test that aging defense again. The following article sums up my feelings:
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/09/11/bernstein-damn-you-bears-you-might-be-good/

* Wooten earned a place in NFL history last year, when he recorded his first sack, ending Brett Favre's starting streak.

[Wood]

If I was you guys I would be a little worried about my linebackers or lack there of. If Steven Jackson would of been able to stay in that game I think it could of been a long day for the Eagles.

Our LBs are inexperienced, no question. But this was as much about scheme and adjustment as anything. They settled down in the second half and I have faith that Castillo will get things right. Let's remember, the Eagles are not only starting three inexperience backers, but our DC was an offensive line coach for the last 13 years. Adjustments will be necessary. That said, our defensive line was studly yesterday, we are 7 deep and they can all bring the pressure, and our DBs weren't even tested because Bradford isn't able yet to throw deep given his lack of downfield threats.

[steve bryant]

Do we need to call the suicide prevention hotline for Tiki?

[Wood]

Do we need to call the suicide prevention hotline for Tiki?

Nah...Steelers are always going to be there.

[Stupendous Man]

Shocked. Absolutely shocked, that my Bengals were able to come out with a win Sunday. I had zero expectation that it would be nothing but yet another masochistic afternoon in front of the TV. Cincinnati Bengals football teams just do not overcome injuries to the starting QB, bad weather, playing on the road, or second half deficits.

Thankfully Dalton's injury isn't supposed to keep him out next week. He impressed. Especially the rapport he seemed to have with Gresham. Ced was solid as he always seems to be hen he gets enough carries. The defense surprised me as well, they kept Peyton Hillis relatively in check.

[Wood]

Shocked. Absolutely shocked, that my Bengals were able to come out with a win Sunday. I had zero expectation that it would be nothing but yet another masochistic afternoon in front of the TV. Cincinnati Bengals football teams just do not overcome injuries to the starting QB, bad weather, playing on the road, or second half deficits.

Thankfully Dalton's injury isn't supposed to keep him out next week. He impressed. Especially the rapport he seemed to have with Gresham. Ced was solid as he always seems to be hen he gets enough carries. The defense surprised me as well, they kept Peyton Hillis relatively in check.

One of the more shocking outcomes of the weekend.  Now this could be as much about Cleveland being a pretender as it was an endorsement of the Bengals, but there were things any Bengals fan could take away from Sunday with a smile on their face.